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Watch: Philip Seymour Hoffman is A Most Wanted Man

Much like the late, great James Gandolfini, we will still have a few more chances to catch the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman on screen. Aside from what has been promised to be a CGI-enhanced continuation as Plutarch Heavensbee in the final two Hunger Games movies (Mockinjay – part 1 and part 2), there is the film version of John LeCarré’s A Most Wanted Man.

The film is based on a novel by John Le Carré with a screenplay by Andrew Bovell (Edge of Darkness, Lantana, the latter based on his own play) and directed by Anton Corbijn, the man responsible for Control and more importantly, a quiet, moody thriller called The American (with George Clooney).

When a half-Chechen, half-Russian, brutally tortured immigrant turns up in Hamburg’s Islamic community, laying claim to his father’s ill gotten fortune, both German and US security agencies take a close interest: as the clock ticks down and the stakes rise, the race is on to establish this most wanted man’s true identity – oppressed victim or destruction-bent extremist? Based on John le Carré’s novel, A MOST WANTED MAN is a contemporary, cerebral tale of intrigue, love, rivalry, and politics that prickles with tension right through to its last heart-stopping scene.

Newly released UK trailer is the same approximate length as the domestic version, but events are arranged in slightly different ways, giving us a different angle on the action.

Int’l version :

Domestic version:

A Most Wanted Man bowed at this year’s Sundance Film Festival in January, prior to Hoffman’s death. His performance, as usual , earned rave reviews, but the movie itself was given a lukewarm reception. Now, it almost doesn’t matter.

While the supporting cast is exceptional, including Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright, Daniel Brühl, and Willem Dafoe. Hoffman, is, of course, being called “brilliant”, giving a performance already earning Oscar buzz and it is his presence that will get people to the theaters to see it.

A Most Wanted Man opens in the US in limited release (grrrrr) on July 25 and in the UK on 5 September. In any case, whether we see the film on the big screen or at home via VOD, it is going to remind us all of just what we’ve lost. JMHO